Africa Wild Reptile Book: Lizards - Photos & Descriptions

Discussions and information on all Southern African Reptiles

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Re: AW Reptile Book: Lizards - Pics & Descriptions

Post by Flutterby »

Nile Monitor, Water Monitor Varanus niloticus (Waterlikkewaan)
Family: Varanidae

Image

Image

Description
The Nile monitor is the largest lizard in Africa and can grow to about 4–6 feet in length with rare specimens exceeding 8 feet. They have muscular bodies, strong legs and powerful jaws. The teeth are sharp and pointed in juvenile animals and become blunt and peg-like in adults. They also possess sharp claws used for climbing, digging, defense, or tearing at their prey. Like all monitors they have a forked tongue, with highly developed olfactory properties. The Nile monitor has 6-11 light-coloured body bands on a black background. The tail is long, longer than the rest of the body from nose to hips, thick and muscular near the base, tapering to a whiplash at the end, and keeled along most of its length. Their base colour is typically grey or black with yellow or white spots. Their nostrils are placed high on the snout, indicating that these animals are highly aquatic, but are also excellent climbers and quick runners on land.

Geographic Distribution
Nile monitors are native to Africa and the species is distributed throughout the entire central and southern regions of the continent, including Sudan and a portion of central Egypt along the Nile river. They are not found in any of the desert regions of Africa.

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Habitat
Freshwater rivers or streams, low density suburban development, areas peripheral to core urban areas, and small towns.

Behaviour
Because they eat crocodile eggs, Nile monitors are often seen near crocodile nesting sites. Adult Nile monitor lizards can easily outrun people over short distances. They can also remain underwater for more than an hour. In motion, the Nile monitor holds its body well above the ground with its legs. The neck is parallel to the ground, the mid parts and end of the tail drag upon the ground. At a leisurely pace, the body swings in a sinuous arc as the limbs are lifted well clear of the ground on each swing to be plopped back down for the propulsive stroke. The tongue flickers in and out of the mouth, testing the ground and air for scents. When in a hurry, the body is held stiffer as the lizard scampers for safety or towards a tasty morsel. In the water, the Nile monitor swims with a graceful serpentine motion, with most of the power coming from its long strongly keeled tail. The Nile monitor can climb well, its talons serving as hooks to catch branches and cracks in bark or rocks. With its impressive strength, it can even friction climb by clamping a smooth surface between its limbs and shimmying upwards, much as a person might climb a rope. Nile monitors are agile and good jumpers, and can leap for low lying ledges or branches. They are also powerful diggers, with their claws and strong forelimbs allowing them to rip through even hard packed and sun baked dirt or the concrete-like outer walls of termite mounds.

Diet
Fish, snails, frogs, crocodile eggs and young, snakes, birds, small mammals, large insects, and carrion.

Predators
Crocodiles, pythons, leopards, eagles, and humans. Predatory fish, herons, snakes and even adults of their own species prey on young.

Image © Pumbaa
Kruger National Park

Reproduction
Nile monitors are a polygynandrous species and will mate promiscuously. Males may reportedly fight each other in violent "wrestling matches," presumably due to competition for mating opportunities. Mating and egg laying usually follows the rainy season, which varies regionally.
The female excavates a hole in the ground or in an active termite nest and lays 20 to 60 eggs. This may take 2-3 days to complete. If she lays her eggs in a termite nest, the termites will repair the hole in their nest, and the monitor eggs develop inside. The heat from the termites acts to incubate the eggs. Under fairly constant temperature and humidity, the unattended eggs are incubated over a period of six to nine months before hatching. The small young weigh an average 26 g upon hatching. When they hatch, baby lizards resemble tiny versions of their parents. After hatching, the young may need to wait for rain to soften the hard nest, or reportedly the mother monitor may return at the right time and open the nest to free the hatchlings. Once they have emerged, however, the baby Nile monitors are on their own.

Links: Bill Branch, William R. Branch: A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa, Animal Diversity Web, ARKive

Image © BluTuna

Image © harrys

Image © Bushcraft

Image © Bush Brat

Image © ExFmem

Image © ExFmem


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Re: Africa Wild Reptile Book: Lizards - Photos & Description

Post by Klipspringer »

Common Rough-scaled Lizard Meroles squamulosus
Family: Lacertidae

Meroles squamulosus Lizard.jpg
Meroles squamulosus Lizard.jpg (58.56 KiB) Viewed 2865 times


Size
A medium-sized lacertid, 17–20 cm.

Description
It has a small head and a fairly stout body. The tail is long, 60–70% of total length. The most conspicuous feature of this small, active lizard is the small, strongly keeled body scales. The snout lacks a sharp edge and there is no fringe along the toes. The cryptically coloured buff-brown body has narrow, dark crossbars or blotches and long rows of pale spots.

Geographic Distribution
Parts of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Meroles squamulosus map.jpg
Meroles squamulosus map.jpg (70.52 KiB) Viewed 2865 times

Habitat
This species is widespread in the northern regions, where it shelters in a burrow in soft sand at the base of bushes.

Diet
Invertebrates, recorded feeding on termites, beetles and grasshoppers.

Reproduction
Lays 8–12 eggs in April–June.
In southern Africa, strangely, this lizard is an annual species; sexual adulthood is reached after only 4 or 5 months, and adults die after laying one or two clutches of eggs; at times during the dry season the entire population exists only as eggs.

Meroles squamulosus.jpg
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Re: Africa Wild Reptile Book: Lizards - Photos & Descriptions

Post by Klipspringer »

Wahlberg's Striped Skink Trachylepis striata wahlbergii
Family: Scincidae. Subfamily: Lygosomatiinae

Image © Lisbeth
Okavango, Botswana

Size
Up to 110 mm, excluding tail.

Description
Large skink, dull grey-brown with pale dorsolateral stripes, narrow black band from the eye to the shoulder, white belly, short limbs with spiny scales on the soles, and lobed ear openings; breeding male has yellow-orange throat.
An agile climber!

Geographic distribution
S Angola, N Namibia, N Botswana, Zambia, N and W Zimbabwe, W Mozambique.

Habitat
Savanna, woodland, semi-arid areas, suburbia.

Diet
Small invertebrates.

Breeding
Gives birth to 3–9 young at a time, breeding year- round.


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Re: AW Reptile Book: Lizards - Pics & Descriptions

Post by Klipspringer »

Eastern Black-lined Plated Lizard Gerrhosaurus intermedius
Family Gerrhosauridae. Subfamily Gerrhosaurinae

Image © Richprins

Image © nan

Image © nan

Image © nan

Image © nan
Kruger National Park

Image © mposthumus

Image © mposthumus
Kruger National Park

Image © Lisbeth
Kruger National Park


Taxonomic Note
A molecular phylogeny indicated that Gerrhosaurus nigrolineatus was restricted to Gabon and the lower Congo region in west-Central Africa, while most other populations previously identified under this name were referable to G. intermedius.

Identification
30–35 cm. A large, handsome plated lizard, similar to Yellow-throated Plated Lizard, but more robust and lacking the lateral yellow line. The brown body has a speckled appearance. Adults in some populations may develop a bright blue flush to the throat and flanks.

Gerrhosaurus intermedius and G. flavigularis occur in close proximity and have been confused in the past because the two species are often similar in colour pattern. However, they differ with regard to size (G. intermedius grows to 183 mm SVL versus 142 mm SVL in G. flavigularis) and scalation (e.g. in G. intermedius scales under the feet are keeled and spinose and there are usually four supraciliaries; in G. flavigularis scales under feet are smooth and tubercular and there are usually five supraciliaries). Gerrhosaurus intermedius is also a more robust species with a relatively larger head. Nevertheless, Jacobsen (1989) noted that morphologically flavigularis-like specimens with intermedius-like colour patterns and blue throats occur in the northeast of Limpopo and southwest of North-West Province, and require further investigation.

Distribution

Gerrhosaurus intermedius  distribution.jpg
Gerrhosaurus intermedius distribution.jpg (29.06 KiB) Viewed 2176 times

Habitat
In South Africa, restricted to low elevations (300-700 m) in the Savanna Biome. Found in open bushveld where it forages among grass, under bushes and in leaf litter at the base of trees, taking refuge in rodent and mongoose burrows and old termitaria.
Elsewhere in Africa it is found in savanna, coastal bush and grassland at altitudes ranging from sea level to about 1600 m.

Diet
With its powerful jaws this lizard tackles large grasshoppers, beetles, and even scorpions.

Reproduction
Lays 4–9 eggs that hatch in 10–15 weeks.

Links:
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... 0/download


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Re: Africa Wild Reptile Book: Lizards - Photos & Descriptions

Post by Klipspringer »

Sundevall's Writhing Skink Mochlus sundevallii
Family Scincidae. Subfamily Lygosomatiinae

Mochlus sundevallii.jpg
Mochlus sundevallii.jpg (65.71 KiB) Viewed 2147 times
Kruger National Park, Olifants © mposthumus

Size
SVL 60-80 mm; max. SVL 90 mm.

Description
Body fat and shiny, merging into fat, spine-tipped tail. Small, five-toed limbs. Snout flattened. Eyes small with movable eyelids. Bronze body speckled with dark spot on each scale. Dorsally, it is grayish or light brown, with dark brown speckling. Ventrally, it is uniformly cream-colored, except for the underside of the tail, which may have speckling.

Geographical distribution
This species is found in eastern and southern Africa, from Somalia in the north, through Kenya and Uganda southwest to Angola, and south to northern South Africa.

map.jpg
map.jpg (63.07 KiB) Viewed 2147 times

Habitat
This species is found in a wide range of habitats. It is known to occur in coastal, dry, and moist savanna, semi-desert, and within coastal and medium to high altitude woodland. It is commonly found under rocks in loose soil and sand and under logs.

Behaviour
A fossorial species. It burrows under rotting logs and into termite nests. It wriggles among leaf litter and loose sand.

Diet
It feeds on termites and insects around rotting logs.

Reproduction
M. sundevallii is oviparous. Few soft-shelled eggs are laid under a stone or in an old termite nest in summer.


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